PWTorch.com - NITRO FLASHBACK: Ric Flair makes dramatic WCW return at peak of Monday Night Wars

Torch Flashbacks
NITRO FLASHBACK: Ric Flair makes dramatic WCW return at peak of Monday Night Wars

Sep 14, 2015 - 3:31:33 AM

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One of the highlights of the Monday Night Wars was Ric Flair's return to WCW Nitro to re-join the Four Horsemen in Flair Country.

Arn Anderson's memorable Horsemen reunion and the return of Flair on September 14, 1998 set up the next chapter of the Flair vs. Eric Bischoff on-air feud. Despite a big TV rating and a big fall season ahead for WCW in 1998, it did not lead to sustained business success - a common theme during the final phase of WCW's run trying to find new ways to reinvigorate the product...

PWTorch Newsletter Cover Story
HEADLINE: Flair returns to WCW, Horsemen reunite
SUBHEADLINE: Storyline based around real life legal battle between Bischoff and Flair; Flair cries due to fan response
Originally Published PWTorch Newsletter #512
By Wade Keller, Torch editor

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Ric Flair returned to WCW as expected on Monday, Sept. 14's live Nitro from Greenville, S.C. When Flair walked out, the crowd reaction was so intense that he broke into tears before he even made it down the rampway to the ring.

Minutes earlier Arn Anderson stood in the ring and talked about the history of the Four Horsemen and praised Steve McMichael, Chris Benoit, and Dean Malenko as original Horsemen manager J.J. Dillon looked on. All were wearing tuxedos. The crowd chanted, "We Want Flair," interrupting Arn's speech. He told them everyone would get what they wanted. Arn eventually introduced Flair.

Flair approached the ring to his "2010: A Space Odyssey" theme song. Tony Schiavone didn't fall short on hyperbole. As Flair walked down the aisle, he said just as people will remember where they were when Mark McGwire hit no. 62, people will remember where they were when Flair walked out. Granted, it must have been a special moment to be in the building when Flair walked out due to the crowd reaction, but it falls well short of making the list of the Top 20 Ric Flair Moments. In fact, the scenario is that of a nearly 50 year old wrestler returning to a promotion that walked all over his legendary status in recent times and has done nothing yet to redeem themselves and instead is turning their disrespect into an angle for profit.

That said, the emotion in the ring made the segment one of the most memorable of the year. Flair hugged everyone in the ring, unsuccessfully fighting back tears. "Thank you," Flair began. "Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm almost embarrassed by the response, but when I see this, I know that the 25 years that I spent trying to make you happy every night of your life was worth every damn minute of it."

Flair then turned up his intensity. "Now, somebody told me that the Horsemen were having a party tonight in Greenville. Could that be true that the most elite group that Eric Bischoff said was dead is alive and well? Bischoff, this might be my only shot and I'm going to make it my best. Is this what you call a great moment in TV? That is wrong because this is real, this is not bought and paid for. This is a real life situation. Just like the night in Columbia, South Carolina when you looked at me, tears in my eyes, and said, 'gosh, that's good TV.' That was real. Arn Anderson passed the torch. That was real. You think Sting was crying in the dressing room like I was on TV if it wasn't real?" Flair turned his focus to ripping on Bischoff for disbanding the Horsemen. He said he owes his fans and fellow Horsemen an apology. Bischoff walked out. "Shut up Flair," he said. "You're history. This is my TV." Flair said, "You're an overbearing asshole. That's right. You're an obnoxious, overbearing, ass. Abuse of power." Bischoff yelled that Flair will never wrestle in WCW again. Flair said, "I hate your guts. You are a liar, a cheat, a scam. You are a no-good son of a (bleep). Fire me! I'm already fired."

They abruptly cut to a commercial. The segment drew the highest quarter-hour rating of the evening, beating Raw by a 5.4 to 3.8 margin.

The storyline is that Flair is still "fired" from WCW. On the Sept. 10 edition of Thunder, Bischoff confronted Arn and set up an arm wrestling contest for this week's Thunder over whether or not Flair can get reinstated.

Arn talked about how he tried to walk away, but got pulled back in by the NWO Black and White. He said, "Be careful what you ask for in this life because you just may get it." He told Malenko, "I said at one point, you didn't get it. And I said that you didn't deserve to put these four fingers up. Well the fact is I'm not saying the Horsemen are back together. They may never be back together. But if it was my call, and I'm not sure it is, I would be honored on this night to call you a Horseman."

Bischoff then interrupted. "Easy, Mr. Malenko, I've got no beef with you," he said. "By the way, did you get your check? I'm sure you did. Your welcome." He turned to Arn and said: "There's one thing you and I agree on. When it comes to bringing back the Horsemen, it's not your call, it's my call. But what we don't agree on is who you work for." He then asked Arn who he worked for. Arn first responded, "WCW." When pressed by Bischoff he responded, "Turner Broadcasting." Bischoff asked again, this time pointing to himself. He pulled out Anderson's new book and said that toward the back of the book it says that Anderson works for Bischoff. He asked Arn if he obtained a release to write the book. He asked him about a part in the book that states everything the NWO is doing, the Horsemen did ten years earlier. Bischoff said: "Yeah, you may have done it before. Back when you were putting twelve hundred people in a fifteen thousand seat arena and the promoter you were working for went bankrupt. But in the meantime, I single-handedly put all these people in the arena tonight and made this the number one wrestling company in the United States of America if not indeed the universe. Don't you agree? The Four Horsemen are history. And like the rest of history they should be viewed at a museum not on my television show. So forget about Flair..." Anderson stepped in and choked Bischoff until Malenko stopped him. Bischoff asked Malenko "What did you just say? I want to be attacked by him so I can sue him like I'm suing Ric Flair? You're wrong." To Arn: "You lay another hand on me and it will cost you everything you don't even own." He asked Arn if he wanted Flair to wrestle again, and if he wanted the Horsemen back. He told him: "I'm not a benevolent dictator. I'm your (stumbling over the word) benevolent boss." He then challenged him to a left handed (Arn's bad arm) arm wrestling match next Thursday on Thunder. Anderson accepted. After a commercial break, Mike Tenay said, "Let's get this out of a courtroom and back in a wrestling ring."

They taped this week's Thunder immediately after the show went off the air. Bischoff claimed to have an arm injury and Buff Bagwell took his place in the arm wrestling contest. Buff beat Arn, which means Flair was not yet officially reinstated, but the storyline obviously is eventually leading to his reinstatement.